WEBVTT >> NEW PROGRAM HIGH.CREIGHTON CHECKING IN AT NO. 7.BOTH COACHES AND ASSOCIATEDPRESS POLLS.RIGHT IN TIME FOR A TOP 25 ROADTEST.BLUE JAYS TAKING ON 22ndRANKED SEVIER IN THE MIDWESTMARATHON.JAYS BY SIX.MAURICE WATSON JR. CALLED FORTHE CHARGE.HE GOES DOWN HARD.BUT WOULD BE OKAY.TWO MINUTE LATER, HOWEVER,WATSON, THIS TIME ON THE DRIVE,HE GETS THE LAY-IN.AGAIN HITS THE DECK.HE WOULD BE DONE FOR THE DAY.THE JAYS WOULD GO FOR WINNUMBER 18 WITHOUT THE HEARTAND SOUL OF THE TEAM.FINAL MINUTES OF THE FIRSTHALF.MARCUS FOSTER PROVIDING ASPARK.TOBY HEGGNER CONNECTING FOR THEALLEY OOP JAM.WITH WATSON ON THE BENCH,WEGNER STEPPED UP HIS GAMEAMJAYS GO ON A RUN IN THE SECONDHALF.RONNIE TURNING DEFENSE INTOOFFENSE.PUTS CREIGHTON UP BY FIVE.COLE HUFF, KYRIE THOMASFINISHED WITH 11 POINTS IN THEGAME.JAYS TRAIL BY ONE.JUSTIN PATTON, THE TIP-BACK.CREIGHTON WOULD NEVER TRAILAGAIN, 72-67.>> IT'S AN INCREDIBLE WIN FOROUR PROGRAM.OUR BACKS WERE AGAINST THE WALLTHIS WAS A CULTURE WIN FOR US.I MEAN, GUYS DOING WHAT THEYARE SUPPOSED TO DO.I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE PROUD OFTHE TEAM.WAS A HECK OF A WIN FOR US.>> WIN ASIDE, MAURICE WATSONJUNIOR'S INJURY.WATSON FINISHED WITH FOURPOINTS AND DID NOT PLAY IN THESECOND HALF.IF YOU WATCH THE FINAL SECONDSOF THE GAME, HE WAS BOUNCINGAROUND ON THE SIDELINES.COACH GREY McDETERMINATESEEMS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT WATSON'SRETURN.>> UNTIL WE GET AN MRI, I DON'TTHINK THERE IS ANY LIGAMENTDAMAGE.THEY SEEM TO THINK THELIGAMENTS ARE SOLID.WHETHER THERE IS ANY MENISCUSIRKS WE WON'T KNOW UNTIL WE GETBACK.>> WHETHER I'M BACK OR NOT, IDON'T KNOW UNTIL I GET SOMETESTS DONE.THIS WON'T SYMPTOM THE SHOW.

On his 22nd birthday, Toby Hegner delivered a number of presents for the seventh-ranked Creighton Bluejays, helping the team earn its 18th win of the season and stay perched atop the Big East Conference standings.

"I've never been more proud of a team," head coach Greg McDermott said. "It was a heck of a win for us."

Advertisement

Hegner tied a season high with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, finding the bottom of the net on both 3-pointers. Over the last three games, he’s hit seven of his last 10 from beyond the arc.

For the rest of the team, however, it was an afternoon to forget in many respects. The team shot a season-low 44.4 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from beyond the arc, 14.3 percentage points lower than its season average. Xavier out-rebounded Creighton by a margin of 10, lost the assist battle, and had fewer bench points and second-chance points.

"We don't play much without Maurice," McDermott noted of his senior point guard, who leads the nation in assists. Watson played just nine minutes, exiting after enduring two wince-inducing falls on his left knee. "We had to throw away our game plan," McDermott said. Tests conducted by the team trainer showed no structural or ligament damage, but, “It hurt really bad once my adrenaline wore off,” Watson said later. "We won't know till we get back," McDermott added.

Watson took to the bench in the second half, aided by crutches, ibuprofen and ice. “At the end of the day, I had to be tough for the team,” he said. McDermott commended Watson for staying active in the game, even though he wasn't on the floor. "Because he's not over there sulking," McDermott said, "he's making sure no one else was."

It was Hegner, the team’s seventh-leading scorer this season, whose layup pushed the lead to three just before halftime; his 3-pointer that retook the lead after Xavier stormed out to its first lead of the game early in the second half; and his three-pointer -- "huge," as McDermott defined it -- nearly 12 minutes later that stretched it to a two-possession lead and stemmed the tide against the suddenly soaring Musketeer offense.

Hegner has contributed since he first stepped foot on campus, but his 17 minutes per contest this season are a career low, more than two fewer than his freshman season. He’s averaging just 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest, attempting four shots per game.

"Guys that played different roles during their careers in our program are now being asked to play a role off the bench," McDermott said. "Their contribution today, their awareness was the reason we won the game. This isn’t about statistics. This was a culture win for us."

Indeed, Hegner's worth has been immeasurable his junior campaign. He stepped up when senior big Zach Hanson went down with an ankle injury, improving his three-point percentage to a scorching 42.1 after failing to eclipse 36 in either of the past two seasons and turning the ball over just three times in 306 minutes entering Monday, which, if maintained, would represent the team’s lowest turnover rate in at least the last 14 years. Prior to tipoff, it was the lowest rate in the country among major-conference players.

Defensively, McDermott was pleased with his team's performance. "We weren't winning a shootout once Maurice went down," he added.

Later, when 22nd-ranked Xavier mounted its run, it was redshirt freshman center Justin Patton’s tip-in with 49 seconds remaining that gave Creighton (18-1, 5-1 in Big East) back the lead. “You didn’t really play good for 36 minutes,” Watson recalled of his conversation with Patton before the play, “but these last four minutes I need you to be huge. You’ve got to play like our go-to guy.”

Ultimately, it was Xavier’s inability to connect on free throws that proved crippling in the 72-67 loss. The Musketeers rank 191st in free-throw percentage (69.1), but were abhorrent on Monday, tying a season high with 13 misses at the stripe, including two in the final two minutes. "Let’s be honest: They make their free throws, it’s probably a different game," McDermott said.

Notebook:

Marcus Foster led the Bluejays with a team-high 15 points on 7-for-20 shooting. He has scored in double figures in all but two games this season.

The win is Creighton’s fifth straight since the team lost to Villanova on Jan. 1.

The loss is Xavier’s third consecutive, all coming to ranked opponents.

Creighton, at 5-1 in conference play, is tied with Villanova atop the conference standings.